Senator Bennett’s Sudden Dismissal and Internet Regulation

What could Bennett’s Senate dismissal and proposed internet regulation possibly have to do with each other?

First, a question I asked my students

As we discussed web strategy in my entrepreneurship class, I asked the following question to my 30 students, “Who stands to gain more from unregulated internet proliferation, libertarians or socialists?”

Surprisingly to me, the vast majority said that socialists have more to gain.  I do not agree.  Information control is critical to socialist causes.  The FCC recently suffered a legal loss when a court ruled that the FCC has no jurisdiction in the internet.   The court ruled so due to the Bush  Administration’s broadband reclassification of the internet to “information service.”  As “information service,” the internet cannot be regulated or governed by the FCC.  See the article below for an explanation.

http://www.seattlepi.com/business/1700ap_us_tec_internet_rules.html

Following its loss, the FCC’s plan is to reclassify the internet in a way that will allow the FCC to 1) control how service providers allocate bandwidth and 2) subsidize internet use to the poor.

Conservatives are bristling at what they say is another government takeover and another redistribution of wealth.  They point to Communist/Socialist/Totalitarian countries that all regulate the internet as a way of keeping the masses under state control.  With few exceptions, the rulers of these countries are only able to maintain control by squelching dissenting voices.  Many libertarians/conservatives (Glenn Beck for one) claim that any further regulatory control is a mere “foot in the door” toward further free speech encroachment and must be stopped if we are to maintain our quickly diminishing level of freedom.  The below article discusses Hugo Chavez’ attempts to regulate dissenting voices.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20000415-38.html

Senator Bennett was sent packing because he could not be relied upon to stand on principle.  By his own admission, he believes that it is naive to think that you can go to Washington and get anything done without vast compromise.  But getting things done is hardly a worthy aim.  In fact, at least for convention voters, getting things un-done is a worthier pursuit.  The internet regulation battle will be at least partially decided by congress.  Having lost the government encroachment battle on healthcare, banking, auto industry and others, GOP convention voters wanted assurance and clarity that further government encroachment on anything else would be akin to a war declaration.

A strong message out of this was sent to Senator Hatch who faces reelection in two years.  He also glories in his gaming ability.  He thinks it is naive for Pollyanna conservatives to suggest that principal should supplant expediency.  Senator Hatch has two years to make his case.  His reelection depends on it.